and the like. Allah, Exalted is He, is praised for the inherent attributes of perfection and for the attributes of perfection that extend to others. Thus, He is praised for His perfection and praised for His beneficence, Exalted is He.

His statement: “as much as fills the heaven, as much as fills the earth, and as much as You will of anything thereafter.” The phrase “as much as fills” is an adjective qualifying an omitted noun; that is: praise filling. The omitted word “praise” is in the accusative as an absolute object, governed by the verbal noun in his statement: “Our Lord, and to You belongs all praise.”

His statement: “as much as fills the heaven.” The author here used the singular form, whereas most of the reports transmitted from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, use the plural: “as much as fills the heavens and as much as fills the earth.” (1) In one narration recorded by Muslim: “as much as fills the heaven.” (2) As for his statement, “as much as fills the earth,” it occurs in the singular because this is the Quranic manner of expression: in the Quran, Allah, Exalted is He, generally refers to the earth in the singular and to the heavens in the plural.

His statement: “as much as fills the heaven and the earth.” Some scholars (3) said that this means that, if praise were physical bodies, it would fill the heaven and the earth; thus, it would fill them in terms of physical volume.

However, the correct view is otherwise: the meaning of his statement, “as much as fills…”